John Chayka may have just made the steal of the year with this acquisition

Forget the roster. John Chayka's best addition in Toronto stands behind the bench, and Jim Hiller already has the Maple Leafs defending differently.

Heading into tonight's home date with the Ottawa Senators, the Leafs sit at 1-1-0. Not flashy. But the goals-against column tells a much louder story.

Toronto has allowed 4 goals through two games. For a club whose own front office admits it struggled to defend in recent years, that shift matters.

Chayka said it himself on Overdrive: "It's early, but we've been able to defend much more effectively than we have in the last few years."

Hiller was hired June 17. Less than four months later, the new head coach's fingerprints are all over the way this group protects the slot.

Anthony Stolarz has been the biggest beneficiary. He's sitting at a .963 save percentage and picked up the win in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders.

Sergei Bobrovsky hasn't found that same comfort. He took the loss in Tuesday's 3-2 home defeat to the Montreal Canadiens and carries an .875 save percentage.

Auston Matthews still searching while Easton Cowan delivers

Here's where the new system gets tested. Auston Matthews, carrying a $13,250,000 cap hit, has no points through two games and has gone minus-2.

Meanwhile Easton Cowan, on a $900,000 deal, has 3 points, including a power-play goal and the game-winner.

So who's supposed to finish in a defense-first system? Right now, it isn't the highest-paid player on the roster.

William Nylander has scored twice. Still, he's a minus-2 as well, a sign the top six hasn't fully figured out life without the puck under the new structure.

The blue line has its own sore spot. Darren Raddysh sits at minus-3, the worst mark on the team, and his $8,500,000 cap hit already looks like a bad fit for this system.

The quieter defenders are the ones holding it together. Troy Stecher is plus-2, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson is plus-1.

Then there's Gavin McKenna. The 18-year-old is still looking for his first point of the season and has gone minus-2 early.

Judging a coach after two games is like reviewing a restaurant off the bread basket. But the bread in Toronto has been good, and fans haven't tasted that in a while.

Ottawa arrives without a regular-season game under its belt, so Andrew Campbell's group should come in fresh legs and all, with nothing on tape yet.

After Nashville visits Tuesday, the Leafs hit the road for a three-game trip through Las Vegas, Colorado and Utah.

Can Hiller's structure hold up against Colorado's speed at altitude? And how long does the patience last if Matthews stays off the scoresheet?

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